Biotechnological processes for producing pharmaceutical or diagnostic protein products generally employ extraction and purification steps to obtain products of interest from a variety of sources. Sources of the proteins may include bacteria, yeast, and mammalian cell culture fluids, and extracts of naturally occurring tissues, for example.
Generally, the extraction and purification steps are numerous and entail various techniques. The type of product to be produced, its intended use, and other factors influence what steps are most appropriate, what extent of purification is beneficial, and how the purification can be accomplished. In general, the greater the desired product purity, the more steps that will be utilized in the process.
Standard protein purification protocols generally begin with disruption of cells and a clarification step to remove cell and/or tissue debris from the target protein. One common way of clarifying a solution is by centrifugation. Efficiency of a centrifugation step depends on particle size, density difference between particles and surrounding liquid, viscosity of the feedstock, and the like. For solutions obtained from small cells, such as E. Coli, the small particle size and high viscosity reduce the feed capacity during centrifugation and may interfere with the clarification process. Thus, it is often recommended to combine a centrifugation step with microfiltration. Although microfiltration can alleviate some of the problems that are encountered, fouling of the microfiltration membranes can be a further problem.
Each additional step in a protein purification process affects both the cost of the purification and the overall yield. Accordingly, manufacturers seek to obtain a desired product purity in the most economical fashion. One way to lessen the production cost is to reduce the number of steps in a purification process. Alternatively, the steps in existing processes can be modified or enhanced to reduce protein loss at each step.
One method that increases yield by eliminating process steps is expanded bed chromatography (“EBC”). EBC is a technique that utilizes an absorbent in a stable fluidized bed. When EBC is used for purifying proteins from solutions containing cell debris and/or tissue debris, prior centrifugation is not necessary. Although use of EBC eliminates a process step, both product loss and processing disadvantages can occur with EBC. The EBC apparatus maintains adsorbent in the column with a frit, and can be fouled by cell debris in the solution applied to the column. Fouling of the frit can decrease yield of product, increase processing times, and in extreme cases, render the process unusable.
Therefore, there remains a need for processes and methods that can effect higher purity protein purifications at lower costs.